Bath woman survives brutal domestic violence knife attack

BATH — A Bath woman is lucky to be alive and her live-in boyfriend is being held on $100,000 cash bail following a brutal domestic violence knife attack Monday morning, according to Bath Police Lt. Stan Cielinski.

Matthew T. Wycoff, 28, who police think moved to Bath within the past couple of months, is charged with Class A elevated aggravated assault and is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. According to Cielinski, a verbal argument between Wycoff and his 38-year-old girlfriend escalated to Wycoff stabbing her multiple times in the neck and shoulder with a steak knife. Cielinski said the woman is in serious but stable condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

“She’s pretty lucky,” said Cielinski. “I think what saved her was that at some point when he was attacking her, the blade on his knife broke.”

Other adults who were present in the Washington Street apartment — who Cielinski said were roommates — called police at 6:54 a.m. when the couple began fighting, but before the physical attack. Officers arrived at the scene to find the woman conscious and alert, but with serious stab wounds. Witnesses told police that Wycoff had fled in a black Kia sport utility vehicle. Police issued an alert to area departments and at 7:34 a.m., Topsham Police Officers Randy Cook and William Collins saw the Kia at a Gibb’s gas station on Main Street in Topsham. Wycoff was taken into custody without further incident, said Cielinski.

“That was some good police work by Topsham police,” said Cielinski. “They didn’t have any problems.”

Wycoff has a criminal record, but Cieliski said late Monday morning that the investigation into the attack was just beginning and he didn’t yet have details about Wycoff’s record. He said Wycoff is approximately 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 240 pounds.

“He’s a big guy,” said Cielinski. “This could have gone even worse for the victim.”

Cielinski said the woman lost a lot of blood at the scene of the attack. He did not know Monday morning if the other adults who were in the home at the time tried to intervene.

Cielinski said investigators were in the process of interviewing the witnesses and victim Monday morning and that he expected Wycoff to appear in court Tuesday. Class A elevated aggravated assault, which is the most serious assault charge under Maine law, could result in a prison sentence of up to 30 years if Wycoff is convicted.